Stewardship programs proposed as way to shift the burden of trash

On Thursday, representatives will consider House Bill 1602, a stewardship program that proposes an industry-led channel for battery recycling. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin)

If New Hampshire’s landfills are like bathtubs, some legislators are looking for new ways to turn off — or at least turn down — the tap.

Regulating waste after it’s been discarded is like “going to get a mop” while the tub is overflowing, said Rep. Lucius Parshall, a Democrat from Marlborough and a proponent of what are often called “product stewardship programs,” last September. “…What (extended producer responsibility) would do, effectively, is turn that tap off.”

Extended producer responsibility programs are intended to shift the burden and costs of disposing of products off of municipalities, which traditionally assume responsibility for the waste stream, onto manufacturers. Proponents say it is one way to stem the flow of waste at the source and increase recycling rates, particularly of difficult-to-handle waste. 

But discussions around such proposals and how they are funded have generated controversy in the past year. In January, after a proposal to establish a paint can stewardship program passed both the House and Senate, Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced her intent to veto it, telling NH Journal that the program fee was too similar to a sales tax. 

The program’s sponsors rejected that characterization; now, a similar bill, this time concerning batteries, is set to hit the House floor on Thursday. Like the paint can bill, this proposal has received support from industry and environmental advocates alike. It left the House Committee on Environment and Agriculture with unanimous support.  

Reallocating responsibility for trash

Under a stewardship program, the company or entity involved in a product’s manufacture, distribution, or use also manages its disposal or recycling once the item has reached the end of its useful life.

Programs like this are intended to shift responsibility for waste management from local governments onto manufacturers, according to the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, which oversees product stewardship programs in the Pacific Northwest. 

To accomplish this, companies may partner with a third party stewardship organization to oversee those steps. It’s typical for such organizations to work directly with industry, not with the state, though legislation can pave the way for a program to be enacted, said Parshall in an interview last September.

“One of the nice things about that for the industry is that they can rest assured that the money they pay into the stewardship fund is not being used for state administrative costs,” he said.

By helping divert waste from landfills, promoting recycling, and improving proper handling of toxic waste, implementing product stewardship programs could support several of the objectives laid out in New Hampshire’s 2022 solid waste management plan, said Rep. Karen Ebel, a Democrat from New London, at a January meeting of the New Hampshire Solid Waste Working Group, which she chairs.

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However, some contend the programs shift disposal costs onto the sticker price of the item.

“The precedent this bill sets is downright dangerous to those of us who oppose sales tax,” said Sen. Keith Murphy, a Republican from Manchester, on the Senate floor Jan. 7.

Speaking at a meeting of the Solid Waste Working Group Jan. 23, Ebel disagreed.

“The New Hampshire House … would not have passed a bill that included a sales tax,” she said, adding the fiscal note shows “no revenue going to the state from either a tax or a state imposed fee.” The costs of recycling the paint cans would be collected and put to use by the independent stewardship organization.

The difference between a tax and fee lies in the purpose of the associated charge, according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, which defines a fee as a charge “for services rendered” and a tax as a charge imposed by a government, “generally” separate from charges for specific purposes or uses. 

Another attempt at establishing the paint product stewardship program comes this session in the form of HB 1198, also sponsored by Ebel. 

Battery stewardship program suggested as fire hazard mitigation

On Thursday, representatives will consider House Bill 1602, another stewardship program bill sponsored by Ebel, that proposes an industry-led channel for battery recycling.

This program follows last year’s ban on the disposal of lithium ion batteries, an initiative driven in part by concern about the batteries’ potential to catch on fire at transfer stations, creating fires that are difficult to extinguish. The proposal is the outcome of discussions among Solid Waste Working Group members, according to Ebel’s testimony.

The program is self-funded, Ebel said, and would help improve recycling rates of the minerals used within batteries. Others said the proposed stewardship program could help ensure batteries are properly disposed of in the wake of the ban, which left a gap in safe disposal opportunities for batteries.

“Disposal bans alone do not create collection infrastructure,” said Susan Bernard, vice president of government relations and sustainability with battery trade group Battery Council International in written testimony on the bill.

The proposal passed the House Committee on Environment and Agriculture with a unanimous vote on Feb. 3.